Employment & Benefits

Australia - Lander & Rogers

Following a recent Federal Court decision, a power solutions company was forced to reinstate a senior employee who it had fired three years previously and pay him A$1.1 million in back pay. This case serves as a reminder that employers must be aware of the dangers of unlawfully terminating an employee, particularly given that the employee may be reinstated into their position should it be held that they suffered adverse action.

Canada - Fasken

The British Columbia Supreme Court recently considered how employers can properly address workplace conduct to minimise the risk of constructive dismissals. This case not only offers a useful summary of the law on poisoned workplaces, but also offers employers several practical suggestions on how to reduce this risk, including by implementing a respectful workplace policy and treating complaints seriously.

Italy - Stanchi Studio Legale

The Supreme Court recently decided a labour litigation case filed by an Italian employee of the British Council. The court affirmed the principle that the exoneration from Italian jurisdiction of foreign states and entities that, in a broad sense, hold the status of bodies of a foreign state meets a double limit in the field of labour relations for disputes concerning employment relationships unrelated to the institutional functions and the organisation of the entity and when a claim with exclusively patrimonial content is raised.

United Kingdom - Lewis Silkin

The Court of Appeal recently upheld a decision that the dismissal of an employee immediately before a Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations transfer was automatically unfair because the principal reason had been the transfer. This case underlines that even where an employer believes that it has a non-transfer-related rationale for a dismissal, caution should be exercised where it will occur close to the transfer date.

USA - Dentons US LLP

Senate Bill 121 has amended New Jersey's longstanding Law Against Discrimination to prohibit any contractual provision that conceals "the details relating to a claim of discrimination, retaliation, or harassment". Notably, the new law applies to all existing and future agreements, except collective bargaining agreements. The law also preserves the enforceability of certain restrictive covenants, including non-competition agreements and provisions protecting confidential and proprietary information.

Luxembourg - Castegnaro

Sweden - Wistrand

Author: Jörgen Larsson

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